GameStop Chairman Ryan Cohen.
Source: CNBC
GameStop said Thursday morning that billionaire activist investor Ryan Cohen would take over as the video game retailer’s chief executive.
Shares of the company jumped nearly 10% in premarket trading following the announcement. GameStop was part of the meme stock craze of 2020 and 2021.
GameStop said Cohen wouldn’t receive any compensation for his work as the company’s CEO, president and executive chairman.
The move comes more than three months after GameStop fired CEO Matthew Furlong while making Cohen executive chairman. GameStop didn’t give a reason for the firing at the time.
Cohen, who founded Chewy and has become known as the “king” of meme stocks, bought a stake in GameStop in 2020 and joined the board in 2021 – during the height of the meme phenomenon.
Since then, the business hasn’t show many signs of a turnaround, albeit with some exceptions. Earlier this month, GameStop reported its second quarter financial results, posting a narrower loss than it did a year ago, as well as a slight increase in revenue.
